There is a relevant body of desk organizer prior art. However, no single prior desk organizer solves substantially all of the shortcomings that various embodiments of the present invention solve.
For example, some prior art desk organizers use a “one size fits all” approach with little or no diversity in storage compartment size, volume, shape, or opening orientation. This of course presents a problem for storing articles of diverse sizes, structures, and shapes. For example, office supplies may comprise such diverse articles as pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, crayons, writing implements, drafting implements, scissors, staplers, staples, staple removers, tape, binder clips, paper clips, paper (of various sizes and quantity), adhesive note pads (such as post-its), rulers, note pads, computing devices, mobile computing devices, phones, smartphones, beverage containers, photographs, compasses, protractors, calculators, coins, correctional fluid, correctional tape, eye glasses, sunglasses, clocks, watches, wipes, and the like.
Some prior art desk organizers provide either vertically accessible storage compartments (e.g., openings accessible from a top direction) or horizontally accessible storage compartments (e.g., openings accessible from a side direction), but not both together in a single organizer. It may be desirable to store certain shaped articles in vertically accessible storage compartments (such as, but not limited to, writing implements). It may be desirable to store certain shaped articles in horizontally accessible storage compartments (such as, but not limited to, stationary). And it may be desirable to have an option in a single organizer to utilize either or both of vertically accessible storage compartments and/or horizontally accessible storage compartments.
Much of the vertically accessible storage compartments desk organizer prior art has a cone, conical, or pyramid structure. Such structures share a prominent high point or high region in the middle of the desk organizer and this creates a common problem for this entire class of prior art desk organizer. This common problem is one of visibility of the removably stored articles. Because the prominent high point or high region located in the center, there necessarily must be regions behind this center that are obscured from visibility, requiring either that the desk organizer be moved to see what is obscured or requiring the user to look from above to see what may be obscured behind the high center. It would be desirable to utilize a progressively tiered structure of storage compartment openings instead, such that high regions are not located at the center but rather at a back, which increase visibility of all or substantially all of any storage compartments and/or the articles which may be removably stored within such storage compartments.
Additionally, much of the desk organizer prior art does not rotate, which may create a visibility problem for the user. Additionally, some desk organizer prior art that may rotate may have the cone, conical, or pyramid structure, which means that no matter which way such desk organizers may be rotated, some storage compartments may always be blocked from the view of the user; or that no matter which way such desk organizers may be rotated, some storage compartments may always be in the view of the user, even when the desk organizer may not be in use. It may be desirable to have a progressively tiered structured for storage compartment openings, such that the desk organizer may be rotated, when not use, so no such storage compartments are visible.
Some of the desk organizer prior art may be bulky, cumbersome, heavy, and/or large, making portability of such desk organizer's problematic. It would be desirable to have a desk organizer that may be readily portable. Similarly, it would be desirable to have a desk organizer that may not take up too much room of a desktop or similar supporting substrate surface.
In much of the desk organizer prior art any storage compartments present are fixed, and non-divisible and/or non-reconfigurable. In order to accommodate the diversity of office supply articles, it may be desirable if at least some of any present storage compartments may be divisible and/or reconfigurable, e.g., by adding, removing, or moving dividers, panels, and/or walls.
Additionally, much of the desk organizer prior art leaves no open surface areas for accepting tacky post-it type notes, other notes, or photos. It would be desirable to have a desk organizer with sufficient and/or dedicated surface area for accepting such tacky post-it type notes, other notes, or photos.
There is a need in the art for a desk organizer that may solve all, substantially all, or a majority of these prior art shortcomings within a single embodiment.
It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.